CBD Brand Dragon Hemp Launches Nature-inspired Body Care Line
CBD brand Dragon Hemp is entering body care.
The brand, which employs traditional Chinese herbs and cannabinoids, has garnered traction through its apothecary that sells tinctures, healing balms and gummies. Now Dragon Hemp is introducing a nature-inspired line of CBD- and essential oil-infused body care.
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The line, called Liniments in reference to a medical ointment or topical, includes the Hydrating Creme, $90; the Body Oil, $90, and the Body Lotion, $75. While body care was always on the horizon for founder Kevin Menard, true inspiration struck when he was diagnosed with metastatic stage four prostate cancer shortly after opening the Dragon Hemp apothecary in Sag Harbor, N.Y., last May.
“It was crazy here. I opened the store. I also had this diagnosis,” he said. “I was going through treatments. I was seeing patients. I was running the store. It was just a whirlwind.”
By the end of that summer, Menard and his husband were seeking a respite and headed to the Amangiri resort in Canyon Point, Utah. During hikes, Menard discovered the desert sage bushes, which were used to create essential oils for the resort’s spa.
“The overall experience of being there in the desert with these oils taking care of yourself with the meditation and the hikes and recommuning with nature, I felt amazing and I was inspired,” Menard said. “I was like, ‘I want to create a line with full-spectrum CBD that blends essential oils.…I want to create a line for people [where] the aromatics of those natural landscapes that they go to find healing resonate for them.”
Therefore, each product in the range comes in four nature-inspired scents: Ocean, Mountain, Desert and Forest. To create the blends, Menard worked with Body Bliss, a Sedona, Ariz.-based aromatherapy company that also created the essential oils for Amangiri. The essential oils in the formula promote mood-boosting benefits through aromatherapy, while the CBD works to reduce inflammation in the skin.
While Menard has seen the CBD industry slow down, he believes there is still significant potential.
“CBD is in a very interesting place. It was super white hot for a while and everyone was getting into it,” he said. “Then there was this big contraction in 2019 and that was due to Facebook, Instagram, Amazon just shutting down any product that had CBD.”
According to Menard, several beauty brands entered the space but struggled due to merchant processor shutdowns — many merchant processors do not allow the sales of CBD-based products, he explained. However, he expects CBD to remain popular due to its efficacy.
“The CBD market is still going strong. It’s evolving. It’s not going away. It’s not as cool as it was,” he said. “But the thing with CBD, it’s super effective.”
The line is expected to amass $250,000 in first-year retail sales, according to industry sources. With this the brand expects body care to perform similarly to its bestselling gummies or to outpace them as the largest segment.
To start, the line will be available at the apothecary and direct-to-consumer. The brand is negotiating with several spas and resorts, as well.
